Valletta F.C.

Valletta FC

Full name	Valletta Football Club
Nickname(s)	Lilywhites Tal-Palestina Citizens [1]
Founded	1943;81 years ago (1943)
Chairman	Claudio Grech
Manager	Thane Micallef
League	Maltese Challenge League
2023–24	Maltese Premier League, 12th (relegated)
Website	http://www.vallettafc.net/
Home colours Away colours

Valletta F.C. is a professional football club based in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. They compete in the Maltese Challenge League, the second tier of Maltese football, following relegation from the Maltese Premier League in 2024. ^[2] The club was founded in 1943 after a merge of Valletta Prestons, Valletta St. Paul's and Valletta United, the latter being a two-time league winner before the Second World War.

Considered one of the most supported and successful clubs in Maltese football, ^[3] the club has won 25 league titles, 14 FA Trophies and a record 13 Super Cups. During the 2021/22 season the club was sponsored by Meridianbet. ^[4]

History

There is no clear evidence on when Valletta F.C. started, hence the fact that Valletta possessed two clubs at that era. The foundation of Valletta F.C. was laid with the creation of the Valletta United team. Valletta United was known as the "team of the square" since the club was located in St. George's Square. Valletta United represented the city from 1904 to 1932.

The city of Valletta in Malta has a long footballing history, between 1886 and 1919 at some point or another, around fourteen teams had competed representing the city. Amongst these early teams included the popular Boys Empire League, Valletta College, St. George's Square, Dockyard Albion and Malta Athletic Club.

An early step in the history of the current club was the founding of Valletta United Football Club in 1903 by local youngsters. Despite their enthusiasm for the game which had been brought to the island by the British, the youngsters had a rough start with limited supplies. They cut their white trousers into long shorts and dyed their shirts into that of the club colours (brown, with yellow sleeves) for their uniforms.

The Ditch at Porte des Bombes, which itself had been the scene of the first ever recorded Maltese football match in 1886, was chosen to host Valletta United's first match on 9 January 1904. ^[5] United faced off against a team from the Collegiate School and won 1–0 with a strike from a forward named L. Agius. The full Valletta United team that day included; ^[5]

M.H. Laferla ( Captain ) P. Ferrante E. Galea

E. Vella L. Agius L. Preziosi

C. Vella V. Casolani R. Vadala

V. Camilleri L. Castaldi

The club soon found a more permanent home at St. George's Square, just opposite the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta; they gained the nickname "the team of the square" because of this. Valletta first gained silverware during the 1914–15 season, when they won both the Cousis Shield and the Maltese League championship, it was only the fifth season the league had been competed in Malta.

Much of Maltese football was dominated by Floriana and Sliema Wanderers up until the Second World War, Valletta attempted to upset the status quo several times; they won the Cousis Shield for the second time in 1920–21 and finished as runners-up in the Maltese League during both 1925–26 and 1926–27. During their last season, Valletta United upset the two main clubs in Malta of the time, by winning the Maltese League in 1931–32, however they did not enter the following season.

Although Sliema and Floriana dominated the local scene in those times, by winning these trophies it was Valletta United that started to break into this duopoly and induce greater competition. Valletta United were very active in the Championship of the first division and in fact played 97 games.

During the period that Valletta United played within the Malta Football Association (i.e., from 1909 to 1932), Valletta United won the championship in 1931–32. However, for some reason in the following season, Valletta United disappeared from the football scene and thus the monopoly of Sliema and Floriana football clubs recommenced.

Valletta United was not the only team from the city that played in the highest Division of the M.F.A. In the 1925–26 and the 1926–27 seasons there were Valletta Rovers who played in the highest Division of the M.F.A., then in the season 1937–38 and 1938–39 there was Valletta City.

The winning of five cups in one season

In 1996–97 Valletta F.C. won all five competitions that the Maltese football offers. This was done by succeeding to win the Premier League, Rothmans Trophy, Super Five Cup, Lowenbrau Cup and Super Cup.

The historic season – 2000–01 – Six cups in one season

In the season 2000–01, Valletta F.C. succeeded in breaking their own record from 1996 to 1997. This time they won the six competitions offered by the M.F.A. This particular season there was an additional one, namely the Centenary Cup. It had been added to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the M.F.A.

2007–08: Champions again

Hope for their first trophy in seven years was a huge thought running through Valletta fans in the summer of 2007. Valletta spent a lot of money in the transfer market and expectations were high. Valletta began the season in the worst possible fashion, with a 3–2 defeat to Eternal rivals, Floriana. Valletta's poor start continued with a 1–1 draw against Hibernians, defeat to Sliema, a 0–0 draw with Hamrun Spartans and Msida respectively. However, eventually Valletta hit good form with a 1–0 win over Birkirkara, a 7–0 trashing over champions Marsaxlokk and they gained revenge over Floriana with a 4–0 win on 8 December. After wins over Msida, Mqabba, Hamrun, Sliema and Marsaxlokk the club showed its winning pedigree. Valletta headed to the final round of the season on a high note.

Valletta won their 19th Premier League title after Marsaxlokk failed to beat Birkirkara on Saturday 3 May after a very successful Championship Pool campaign. However, with the title in the bag the long unbeaten streak soon came to an end, and the season ended with a number of defeats. The team also failed to reach the U*Bet F.A. Trophy 2008 final, after losing 4–2 to rivals Birkirkara in the semi-final. But except for the early stages and the post-championship games, Valletta had been the most consistent side.

20th Title

Valletta won the 2010–11 BOV Premier League as an unbeaten team which brought the 20th title to Valletta FC's history.

21st Title (3/4 cups)

Valletta won The 2011–12 BOV Premier League with two matches still to go after beating Sliema Wanderers 3–0, this was the 21st title in the history of Valletta.

They won three cups out of four cups in the domestic league: The 2011–12 BOV Premier League, The 2011–12 Maltese Super Cup, and the Euro Challenge Cup. They were champions of Malta again in 2013–14, 2015–16 and 2 year in a row 2017-18 and 2018-19 for a total of 25 titles

Relegation

Valletta were relegated for the first time in the club's history in the 2023-24 Maltese Premier League season. Valletta spent most of the season in the bottom half of the league. Towards the end of the season, a 1-1 draw against Ħamrun Spartans and a 1-0 win against Balzan showed a glimmer of hope for salvation. This did not happen however and a 4-0 defeat against Naxxar Lions condemned Valletta to relegation.

Players

Current squad

As of 22 January 2024 ^{[6] [7]}

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF   COL Juan Bolaños 6 DF   ARG Enzo Ruiz 8 MF   ARG Fernando Barrientos 9 MF   ARG Santiago Ferraris 11 MF   POR Gonçalo Vieira 14 DF   MLT Christian Gauci 16 GK   MLT Jake Galea 18 MF   MLT Sheldon McKay 20 FW   ARG Federico Falcone 21 MF   MLT Klose Conti

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF   MLT Brandon Paiber 23 DF   SRB Milan Jezdimirovic 24 MF   MLT Rowen Muscat 26 GK   ITA Alessandro Guarnone 30 DF   BRA Victor Luiz 44 DF   ARG Federico Vega 66 DF   MLT Neil Micallef 77 FW   BRA Jhonnattann 80 MF   NGA Silas Alfred 88 FW   NGA David Garba 93 FW   BRA Diego Cardoso

Youth Players in use

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 MF   MLT Jake Azzopardi 15 MF   MLT Keyon Ewurum

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW   MLT Zak Barbara 28 DF   MLT Peter Ohaka

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

Retired numbers

• 7 – Gilbert Agius, FW, 1990–2012

Personnel

Coaching staff

Position [6]	Staff
Manager	Thane Micallef
Assistant Manager	Jesmond Zerafa
Goalkeeping coach	Romeo Schembri
Team manager	Gerard Ellul
Training assistant	Jason Galea Lucas
Physical trainer	Karl Sciortino
Physio	Oscar Alonso
Kit manager	Clint Mizzi

Managerial history

Dates [8]	Name
1949–1950	Harry Tedder
1958–1959	Bob Gilmour
1959–1960	William Dingwall
1962–1964	Carm Borg
1968–1970	Tony Formosa
1970–1972	Josie Urpani
1973–1975	Tony Formosa
1976–1977	Terenzio Polverini
1977–1978	Lolly Debattista
1978–1982	John Calleja
1982–1984	Joe Cilia
1986–1988	Tony Formosa Joe Micallef
1989–1990	George Busuttil
1989–1990	Eddie Vella
1991–1993	Tony Euchar Grech
1993–1994	Lawrence Borg
1994–1995	Joe Cilia Edward Aquilina
1995–1998	Edward Aquilina
1998–2001	Krasimir Manolov
2001–2002	Georgi Deanov
2003–2004	Atanas Marinov
2004–2005	Joseph John Aquilina
2004–2009	Paul Zammit
2009–2010	Ton Caanen
2010–2012	Jesmond Zerafa
2012–2013	Mark Miller
2014	André Paus
2014–2015	Gilbert Agius Ivan Zammit
2015–2017	Paul Zammit
2015–2017	Zoran Popović
2017– 2019	Danilo Dončić
2019	Gilbert Agius (Caretaker)
2019–2020	Darren Abdilla [9]
2020	Giovanni Tedesco [10]
2020	Jesmond Zerafa [11]
2020	Gilbert Agius (Caretaker) [12]
2020-2022	Tozé Mendes [13]
2022	Danilo Dončić [14]
2022-2023	Thane Micallef
2023-2024	Enzo Potenza
2024	Juan Cruz Gill (Caretaker)
2024-	Thane Micallef

European record

As of 10 August 2020 ^[15]

Competition	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win%
European Cup / Champions League	45	8	6	31	37	112	−75	017.78
Cup Winners' Cup	14	0	2	12	6	54	−48	000.00
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League	36	5	7	24	35	80	−45	013.89
UEFA Intertoto Cup	4	0	2	2	3	9	−6	000.00
Total	99	13	17	69	75	255	−180	013.13

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1963–64	European Cup	PR	Dukla Prague	0–2	0–6	0–8
1964–65	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Real Zaragoza	0–3	1–5	1–8
1972–73	UEFA Cup	1R	Inter Milan	0–1	1–6	1–7
1974–75	European Cup	1R	HJK Helsinki	1–0	1–4	2–4
1975–76	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Haladás VSE	1–1	0–7	1–8
1977–78	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Dynamo Moscow	0–2	0–5	0–7
1978–79	European Cup	1R	Grasshopper	3–5	0–8	3–13
1979–80	UEFA Cup	1R	Leeds United	0–4	0–3	0–7
1980–81	European Cup	PR	Budapest Honvéd	0–3	0–8	0–11
1983–84	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Rangers	0–8	0–10	0–18
1984–85	European Cup	1R	Austria Wien	0–4	0–4	0–8
1987–88	UEFA Cup	1R	Juventus	0–4	0–3	0–7
1989–90	UEFA Cup	1R	First Vienna	1–4	0–3	1–7
1990–91	European Cup	1R	Rangers	0–4	0–6	0–10
1991–92	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Porto	0–3	0–1	0–4
1992–93	UEFA Champions League	PR	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–2	0–1	1–3
1993–94	UEFA Cup	1R	Trabzonspor	1–3	1–3	2–6
1994–95	UEFA Cup	PR	Rapid București	2–6	1–1	3–7
1995–96	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	QR	Inter Bratislava	0–0	2–5	2–5
1996–97	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	QR	Gloria Bistrița	1–2	1–2	2–4
1997–98	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Skonto Riga	1–0	0–2	1–2
1998–99	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Anorthosis Famagusta	0–2	0–6	0–8
1999–00	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Barry Town	3–2	0–0	3–2
		2QR	Rapid Wien	0–2	0–3	0–5
2000–01	UEFA Cup	1QR	Rijeka	4–5	2–3	6–8 (a.e.t.)
2001–02	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Haka	0–0	0–5	0–5
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Teuta	1–2	0–0	1–2
2003–04	UEFA Cup	1QR	Neuchâtel Xamax	0–2	0–2	0–4
2005	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Budućnost Podgorica	0–5	2–2	2–7
2008–09	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Artmedia	0–2	0–1	0–3
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	1QR	Keflavík	3–0	2–2	5–2
		2QR	St Patrick's Athletic	0–1	1–1	1–2
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	2QR	Ruch Chorzów	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
2011–12	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Tre Fiori	2–1	3–0	5–1
		2QR	Ekranas	2–3	0–1	2–4
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Lusitanos	8–0	1–0	9–0
		2QR	Partizan	1–4	1–3	2–7
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	1QR	Fiorita	1–0	3–0	4–0
		2QR	Minsk	1–1	0–2	1–3
2014–15	UEFA Champions League	2QR	Qarabağ	0–1	0–4	0–5
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1QR	Newtown	1–2	1–2	2–4
2016–17	UEFA Champions League	1QR	B36 Tórshavn	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		2QR	Red Star Belgrade	1–2	1–2	2–4
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1QR	Folgore	2–0	1–0	3–0
		2QR	FC Utrecht	0–0	1–3	1–3
2018–19	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Kukësi	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
	UEFA Europa League	2QR	Zrinjski Mostar	1–2	1–1	2–3
2019–20	UEFA Champions League	1QR	F91 Dudelange	1–1	2–2	3–3 (a)
		2QR	Ferencváros	1–1	1–3	2–4
	UEFA Europa League	3QR	Astana	1–5	0–4	1–9
2020–21	UEFA Europa League	1QR	Bala Town	0–1	—	—

Honours

Competition	Titles	Seasons
Maltese Premier League	25	1914–15, [lower-alpha 1] 1931–32, [lower-alpha 1] 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
Maltese FA Trophy	14	1959–60, 1963–64, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2017–18
Maltese Super Cup	13	1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019
Cassar Cup	4	1943–44, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1967–68
Super 5 Lottery Tournament	4	1992–93, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2000–01
Cousis Shield	2	1914–15, 1920–21
Scicluna Cup	2	1960–61, 1963–64
Independence Cup	3	1974–75, 1979–80, 1980–81
Malta Cup	1	1943–44
Testaferrata Cup	1	1979–80
Centenary Cup	1	2000–01
Maltese National League 100 Anniversary Cup	1	2009–10
Euro Challenge Cup	6	1983–84, 1987–88, 1989–90, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15
Löwenbräu Cup	6	1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01
Coronation Cup	1	1953–54
Sons of Malta Cup	2	1974–75, 1978–79
Olympic Cup	1	1962–63
Melita Cup	1	1911
Ranger's Cup	1	1914
Poppy Day Fund Cup	1	1960–61
BetFair Cup	1	2008
Mare Blue Cup	2	2010–11, 2011–12
Doubles: League & Trophy in the same season	8	1914–15, 1959–60, 1977–78, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2013–14, 2017–18
All Cups in the same season	3	1996–97 (5/5 Cups), 2000–01 (6/6 Cups), 2017–2018 (3/3 Cups)

Notes

1. Valletta United, the predecessors of Valletta F.C., won the league title in 1914–15 and 1931–32 seasons.

References

1. "Valletta edge Balzan to capture BOV Super Cup". 13 December 2018. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
2. Cachia, Paul; Busuttil, Antoine (28 April 2024). "Watch: Valleta Relegated to Challenge League After Naxxar Defeat" . Retrieved 24 May 2024.
3. "UEFA-MFA study confirms football as no.1 sport in Malta". Malta Football Association. 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
4. "With a goal to promote Maltese sport, Meridianbet sponsored two football clubs during the 2021/22 season!". TVM News. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
5. "The Birth of Valletta United". VallettaFCOfficial.net. 12 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
6. "Squad 2018–19". Valletta F.C. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
7. "Valletta". UEFA. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
8. "The Coaches". Valletta F.C. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
9. V. Camilleri (19 February 2020). "Abdilla sacked as Valletta coach". Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
10. V. Camilleri (19 February 2020). "Updated: Proud Tedesco keen to lead Valletta to more trophies". Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
11. V. Camilleri (17 June 2020). "Zerafa agrees terms to become Valletta coach". Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
12. Camilleri, Valhmor (2 December 2020). "Agius appointed interim coach at Valletta FC". Times of Malta . Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
13. V. Camilleri (28 December 2020). "Portuguese coach Cardoso Mendes takes over at Valletta FC". Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
14. Busuttil, Antoine (3 February 2022). "DANILO DONCIC APPOINTED VALLETTA FC COACH". Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
15. "UEFA Competitions". Valletta F.C. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Valletta F.C. at UEFA